LV Intends To Bid $14 Billion 500 Million To Acquire Tiffany

French fashion boutique group Louis Weedon (Louis Vuitton, LV) has recently offered $14 billion 500 million to acquire the Tiffany of the US jeweler, the largest acquisition ever made by LV, and LV can expand its business scope in the US. LV confirmed that the two sides had a preliminary discussion on a possible transaction.

Tiffany, headquartered in New York, has a market value of nearly $12 billion. The market value of LV is US $214 billion (equivalent to 193 billion euros). According to Bain&Co data, the global jewellery market grew 7% in 2018, valued at about $19 billion 960 million. Tiffany, like Cartier and LV's Bulgari, is one of the world's largest jewelers, but it has been unable to keep pace with European competitors.

Tiffany earned about $4 billion in revenue and struggled for years in weak sales growth. The 182 year old brand has been trying to rebuild its business two years ago under pressure from investors. Under the current CEO's plan, Tiffany has expanded its business to mainland China and plans to open flagship stores in several major cities. The company still relies heavily on tourists from the US market and often refurbished them at the flagship store in Fifth Avenue, New York. Tiffany is also trying to increase market attractiveness, expand customer base, add new products to young shoppers, and introduce men's series of jewelry.

But in recent quarters, sales of Tiffany in the US and Asia have declined. In mainland China, boutique purchases account for about 1/3 of global luxury purchases. However, due to the slowdown in the Chinese mainland and the aggravation of the trade situation, consumers' confidence in the mainland has been reduced, and the luxury companies are under a lot of pressure.

LV earned about $50 billion, and most of its sales depend on consumers in mainland China. But because of its large scale and numerous brands, it has outperformed Tiffany in recent years, ranging from boutique Louis Weedon to Champagne Dom Dom P rignon. Its income has also grown significantly in the last quarter, and is hardly affected by Hongkong's Anti China protests or the US China trade war. LV, which created the luxury kingdom through mergers and acquisitions, spent about $13 billion 305 million to acquire Christian Dior fashion company in 2017.